How to Pickle Cucumbers ~ Polish Sour Pickles Recipe

Many customers have asked us how to make pickles, Polish style. That means no vinegar and using natural fermentation. It is the old-fashioned way of making pickles with just herbs and sea salt. So we thought we should post a nice Polish recipe describing how to make sour cucumbers, below. Pickling cucumbers is actually fairly easy, much easier than making pierogi. Another benefit to learning how to pickle cucumbers is that when you pickle cucumbers yourself, you get all the natural probiotics that are ruined when they pasteurize the bottled pickles found at most stores. And, you can save quite a bit of money!

During the summer months, you can get the best cucumbers for pickling at most local farmer's market. They are not the long cucumbers you find at stores--these will give you mushy pickles. Also, do not purchase commercially waxed cucumbers for pickling either -- the salt will not penetrate them properly. To find the right type of cucumbers, note that picklers tend to be shorter, thicker, no more than 4 to 5 inches in length, less regularly shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white- or black-dotted spines. They are never waxed. Color can vary from creamy yellow to pale or dark green. Pickling cucumbers are sometimes sold fresh as “Kirby” or “Liberty” cucumbers. The key is that they are picked at the prefect time in harvest, not too early and not too mature. Lastly, to make this Polish recipe work, you MUST use unrefined sea salt. Do not use salt with iodine.

Polish Sour Pickles Recipe ~ How to Pickle Cucumbers

Glass or ceramic crock, or food-grade plastic bucket

Plate that fits inside crock or bucket to keep pickles submerged

Cloth cover or lid

15-20 cucumbers (if they are tight in the jar, they are less likely to float to the top)

one garlic head

horseradish root

Flowering dill (best if used dried flower and stems)

1-2 teaspoons mustard seeds

fresh small paprikas (if you want spicy)

Pinch black peppercorns

handful of grape leaves

unrefined sea salt

How to Make Sour Pickles RECIPE DIRECTIONS

1. Make sure you have all the right ingredients. If you can not find fresh horseradish, that is okay, but you do want to have plenty of freshly dried dill and garlic.

2. Wash cucumbers in cold water thoroughly, but do not use a vegetable brush on the skin. Remove the blossoms on the cucumbers. Wash your container and sterilize with hot water. Everything you use most be washed and sterilized or you could ruin the whole container with any bad bacteria.

3. Place herbs, garlic, roots, and seeds in jar first. Regular store bought dill can be used, but if you can find the flower at the top of the dill plant, that has the best flavor. Add dill stems too! Make sure to dry these for a few days before adding. Fresh tannin-rich grape leaves placed in the crock are effective at keeping pickles crunchy. We recommend using them if you have access to grape vines. Other brine pickle recipes use sour cherry leaves, oak leaves, and horseradish leaves to keep pickles crunchy, so try adding these as well. Then add your cucumbers. Arrange cucumbers so that they are even at the top of the jar.

4. Boil water in a kettle. Pour boiling water into a glass measuring cup/beaker. If you have a 1 quart cup, pour to the top and add 2-3 tablespoons unrefined sea salt and stir well to make a brine. Then add to pickling jar. Keep adding brine till you cover the pickles. (Brine: 1 quart boiling water = 2-3 tablespoon salt). Do not do less than 2 tablespoons of salt.

3. If pickles float to top, place a sterilized plate on top to keep them submerged in the salty water to prevent mold from growing. Then cover jar.

4. Place in a cool, dark location and let the fermentation begin! You may be able to taste them in five to seven days, depending on how warm your room is, or it could take up to 2.5 weeks. Just check daily. Skim any mold from the surface, but don’t worry if you can’t get it all. If there’s mold, be sure to rinse the plate. Note, if you sterilize everything really well, use enough salt, and keep the pickles submerged, mold should not grow. Taste the pickles after a few days.

5. Enjoy the pickles as they continue to ferment. Continue to check the crock every day.

6. Eventually, after two weeks (depending on the temperature), the pickles should be fully sour. Continue to enjoy them, moving them to the fridge to slow down fermentation. You can place them in smaller jars with the brine and store in the refrigerator for many weeks too.

my daughter in law brought back a jar of pickles that was so delicious, I couldn't help but almost ate the whole jar. she brought back from Poland she said that it was a receipe from the tatra mountains made the old way. it had leaves in it and she said she believed their was honey used also. I have been looking for that receipe, I am craving them. can you assist me.

You can add leaves that have tannin in it (for example raspberry leaf, oaktree leaf, ...) They make sure the little cucumbers stay crispy as they make them stay firm and they will not loose their structure (im not sure how to say it in english but I hope you understand! ) Happy pickling :D

I am not sure of a recipe older than this one, but every area could be a bit different. I saw a couple of recipes for homeade pickles using honey, but they were not Polish. It does not hurt to experiment. Just use this recipe as a base for ingredients and make a few jars, one with honey added...each jar could be slightly different. Sometimes we add more garlic in one, or more peppers, or more dill.